My love for ice skating goes back 30-something years. I have fun memories, and I remember that the first thing I want to do when I grow up is to go ice skating whenever I want to. Because I was a child, I couldn’t go by myself, so I was always tied to others’ schedules and couldn’t understand why my parents preferred to go to work as opposed to go watch me ice skate for 2 hours or so.
I was lucky to have one of my grandmothers (actually, a neighbour I grew up with that loved me and called her grandma) take me all over I wanted to be but hey, I would have spent all day and all night there. I didn’t realize that it was an expensive activity for the early 90s post-communist capital city. Not all my friends could actually afford this activity.
There was just one ice rink outside – during the winter, some lakes were skatable but I never went there and one inside. The one I used to go to had all these arcade machines as well, a place to spend a lot of money and for bullies to pick on you. But I remember more the good times when I was on the ice. I took some lessons at first; a friend the same age went pro figure skating – I never did but was hanging around and learning some tricks. I have this vivid memory of you hearing my name out loud – a special dedication when e certain song that you requested came on (of course, you had to pay the DJ to do so).
I also have this vivid memory of some hip-hop heads hanging around – later, I got to jam with some of these emcees but I was too young at that time to be active.
And then everything faded. I skated a lot but not on the ice. Since coming to Canada, I have always wished, but for no particular reason, I’ve postponed it. Last year I bought some hockey skates – the only ones available in my size – and looked for a couple of places to put them to the test.
I was disappointed to see many ice rinks in deplorable’s situations outside of Toronto.
But since this is about Forrest Hill, I’m going to talk about the one next to me – within walking distance, that is beautifully set up. I guess going there when it snows adds some magic to it – North Toronto Memorial Community Centre.
It’s next to an indoor hockey rink – it took me a while to figure that one out – as in, why I saw snow in June and July. In the summer, they are tennis courts, but now, they are magic. It’s best to check out the schedule in advance – you don’t need to pay for anything but you do need to bring your own skates. No music, and still some weird activities going on outside in the park.
But man, was I happy on the ice. Highly recommend.
